Iron Man (film)
Iron Man is a 2008 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. The film was written by the writing teams of Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway and directed by Jon Favreau. The film is the first installment of the Marvel Comics Cinematic Universe. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark/Iron Man, a billionaire, playboy, philanthropist who becomes a superhero after an experience in Afghanistan. Downey stars alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Jon Favreau, Charlize Theron, and Jeff Bridges. The film was released on May 2, 2008 and grossed $585.2 million. The film received critical acclaim and ran 126 minutes. Plot A flashback to 1968 shows Howard Stark and his wife, Maria, on the side of the road, with her giving birth. No cars are going by, forcing Maria to give birth on the road. She names the child Tony before passing out. Finally a car goes by and Howard gets himself, Maria, and Tony inside. In the present day, Tony Stark is now running Stark Industries, the company his father created. His personal assistant, Pepper Potts, harbors obvious feelings for Tony, though she is dating Tony's bodyguard, Happy Hogan. Howard's friend, Obadiah Stane, is on the Board of Directors for Stark Industries, and would take over the company if Tony died. Tony travels to Afghanistan, where Stark Industries is set to demonstrate its newest invention, the Jericho missile. Landing in Afghanistan, Tony meets up with James Rhodes, an old friend of Stark's before they had a falling out. Tony unveils the new missile and demonstrates before a terrorist group attacks the scene, kidnaps Stark, and kills three people. Tony is presumed dead by the world and Stane begins running Stark Industries. Russian immigrant Anton Vanko sees the transfer of ownership in Stark Industries over the news and decides he is the rightful owner of the company. In Afghanistan, Tony awakens in the terrorist base, where he is forced to build another Jericho missile. However, Tony instead builds a powerful suit that he powers up and uses to escapes. Rhodes finds him in the desert and returns to the U.S. with Tony, who was missing for three weeks. Tony reunites with Pepper and Happy and regains ownership of the company, angering Stane. Vanko shows up in a powerful exo-skeleton that connects with whips that are surged with electricity. Vanko attacks Tony, though Rhodes protects him. Vanko escapes after U.S. soldiers show up and Rhodes is taken to a hospital. Tony is confused at who that was, and Pepper sends out an arrest warrant for assault. The man is revealed to be Anton Vanko, the son of Howard's business partner who helped create Stark Industries before Howard decided he wanted sole ownership and had him and his son deported. Tony attends a charity fundraiser and meets Bethany Cabe, a new employee at Stark Industries. Bethany reveals that she is also trying to start a blog about the recent uptick in unusual attacks and assaults in New York, including when Tony was attacked by Vanko. However, while they are talking Vanko shows up and attacks them. Stark was prepared, however, and dons the armor he created in Afghanistan. Tony manages to scare Vanko away, though the fragile armor is destroyed. Returning to Stark Industries, Tony decides to build an improved version of the suit. Rhodes has recovered and apologizes to Stark for their falling out years ago. Tony apologizes himself and reveals the suit he is building. Pepper and Happy break up after the former revealed her feelings for Tony while drunk. Tony manages to complete the suit and tries to attract Vanko to his location by announcing that he will be at another charity event the following night. At the event, Rhodes evacuates the building before being called by his superior, who asks why he is evacuating a building. Rhodes tells him that with Tony here, he believes Vanko will strike again. General Talbot tells him he cannot make a drastic decision based on suspicion. Rhodes apologizes until Vanko shows up and interrupts the call. At Stark Industries, Pepper is also part of the plan. Tony holds onto Vanko's suit of armor long enough for it's codes and data to be uploaded to Stark Industries. Pepper begins changing the codes technologically and causes it to overload. After she finalizes the codes, Tony waits for it to happen. Tony and Vanko fight until the latter's suit begins to smoke. Tony tells Rhodes to leave, which he does, as does Tony. Vanko's suit overloads and explodes, destroying the building and Vanko. Pepper reveals her feelings for Tony, who reveals he has feelings for her as well. They kiss, while Rhodes sets a press event for Tony. At the press conference, Tony is asked about the mysterious armored "superhero" that showed up to fight Vanko, and Tony at first claims that he has been searching for the man as well, until he decides to scrap his script and tells the public that he is Iron Man, shocking Happy, Bethany, and Stane, and surprising Pepper and Rhodes that he would reveal that. In a post-credits scene, Bethany leaves work and is picked up by a mysterious driver1. Bethany reveals that Tony revealed he was Iron Man, which was not part of the plan. Her driver, who has an eyepatch, tells her that no matter what, Tony will be on their side. 1The driver was off-screen confirmed by Favreau to be Nick Fury. Cast *Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man *Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts *Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes *Mickey Rourke as Anton Vanko/Crimson Dynamo *Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan *Charlize Theron as Bethany Cabe *Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane Samuel L. Jackson cameos as Nick Fury in a post-credits scene, while Alec Baldwin and Gillian Anderson cameo in the opening scene as Howard and Maria Stark.